CVE-2022-41932 is a medium-severity vulnerability classified under CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting the XWiki Platform, a widely used generic wiki platform that provides runtime services for applications built on top of it. The vulnerability arises from the platform's handling of user identifiers during the login process. Specifically, an attacker can craft a malicious user identifier that causes XWiki to create numerous new database schemas and populate them with tables. This behavior leads to excessive consumption of database resources, resulting in degraded database performance and potentially impacting the overall availability and responsiveness of the XWiki service. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of XWiki Platform, including versions prior to 13.10.8, versions from 14.0.0 up to but not including 14.4.2, and versions from 14.5.0 up to but not including 14.6-rc-1. The issue has been addressed in patched releases 13.10.8, 14.4.2, and 14.6RC1. No known workarounds exist, and no exploits have been observed in the wild to date. The exploitation does not require authentication but does require user interaction in the form of submitting crafted user identifiers via the login form. The vulnerability primarily impacts the availability and performance of the database backend supporting XWiki, potentially leading to denial-of-service conditions if exploited at scale.

For European organizations utilizing XWiki Platform, this vulnerability poses a risk of service degradation or denial of service due to database resource exhaustion. Organizations relying on XWiki for internal knowledge management, collaboration, or application runtime services may experience significant disruptions, affecting productivity and operational continuity. The impact is particularly critical for sectors with high dependency on real-time collaboration platforms, such as government agencies, educational institutions, and large enterprises. Additionally, degraded database performance can indirectly affect data integrity if system timeouts or failures occur during critical operations. Although no data breach or direct confidentiality compromise is indicated, the availability impact could lead to operational delays and increased support costs. Given that no authentication is required to trigger the vulnerability, the attack surface is broad, increasing the risk of opportunistic exploitation. The absence of known exploits in the wild suggests limited current risk, but the potential for future exploitation remains, especially if attackers develop automated methods to submit crafted identifiers at scale.

1. Immediate upgrade to patched versions of XWiki Platform: specifically, versions 13.10.8, 14.4.2, or 14.6RC1 or later, as these contain fixes addressing the uncontrolled resource consumption issue. 2. Implement input validation and rate limiting at the application or web server level to detect and block anomalous login attempts with suspiciously crafted user identifiers that could trigger schema creation. 3. Monitor database performance metrics closely for unusual spikes in schema creation or table counts, and set up alerts to detect early signs of exploitation attempts. 4. Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to identify and block patterns consistent with crafted user identifiers targeting this vulnerability. 5. Restrict access to the login interface to trusted networks or via VPN where feasible, reducing exposure to unauthenticated external attackers. 6. Regularly audit and clean up unused schemas and tables in the database to minimize residual impact from any attempted exploitation. 7. Engage in proactive threat hunting and log analysis to identify any suspicious login activity that may indicate attempts to exploit this vulnerability. These measures go beyond generic patching advice by focusing on detection, prevention, and operational resilience specific to the nature of this vulnerability.